"Cocaine" is a song written and recorded in 1976 by singer-songwriter J. J. Cale. The song was popularized by Eric Clapton after his cover version was released on the 1977 album Slowhand. J. J. Cale's version of "Cocaine" was a number one hit in New Zealand for a single week and became the seventh best-selling single of 1977.
One of the most revered guitarists is the late J. J. Cale. The blues musician has been cited as a hero by many artists such as Neil Young, Mark Knopfler and Waylon Jennings, naming him a pioneer of the influential ‘Tulsa Sound’. Neil Young says: “When I think of great guitarists I think of Jimi Hendrix and JJ Cale. There is no one better than him.”
Despite J.J. Cale making such a mark on a variety of the best players, there is one he impacted more than any other; is ‘Slowhand’, Eric Clapton. Notably, the pair even teamed up for the 2008 record, The Road to Escondido, for which they won a Grammy. (Listen the full album below)
“Life without an animal is terrible,” Cale once told to Eric Clapton. “I loved that old dawg. And Foley before him. Keep meaning to get me a new one.” His nearest neighbours are three acres away – unless you count his close friends, the squirrels, racoons, rabbits and birds running round his modest estate. “It’s like a Disney cartoon out here,” he chuckles.
“Originally I asked him if he’d consider making an album with me,” Clapton recalls. “ I really wanted him to produce me, because I’m a fan of his recorded sound. His minimalism is the way I want to go. He has a unique approach, and I wanted to avail myself of that.
“So I moved in with him for a week, to go over material and to get to know each other. Not a lot of work got done, but that wasn’t the point. His idea was to bring in the musicians and record ‘live’. I thought we might have a problem capturing the ‘groove’ I heard on his demos, usually created with drum machines etc and such an important part of his sound. Eventually the Road… album became a duet thing, which improved it and made the experience more memorable for me.
“Hanging out with John was my favourite pastimes. He had a great sense of humour, and has been misunderstood by most people, referring to him as a recluse when he’s very sociable, open and charismatic.
In another interview, Clapton outlined what he feels is the true greatness behind Cale’s work – the fact that he understood music as a whole.
“What seemed to evolve out of the ’60s and into the ’70s and then, in another way, the ’80s — heavy metal came out of all of this stuff — was, like, volume and proficiency and virtuosity. There didn’t seem to be any reasonable limit to that; it was just crazy. I wanted to go in the other direction and try to find a way to make it minimal, but still have a great deal of substance. That was the essence of J.J.’s music to me, apart from the fact that he summed up so many of the different essences of American music: rock and jazz and folk, blues. He just seemed to have an understanding of it all.”
“I think he found it inconvenient to be pestered by people about what he did for a living. I think he saw his job, or his vocation as a musician, on the same sort of scale as someone who likes to do landscape gardening, or an architect. He just thought it was something you could develop a skill at, be good at, get some satisfaction. I don’t think he recognized that all of the other paraphernalia was necessary. And, in truth, if he had been held to account for that, it would have taken up too much time for him to do the work he did.”
